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Tech News
A new survey shows roughly one in four homeowners are voluntarily paying extra toward their mortgage principal each month, aiming to shorten their loan term and reduce total interest paid. The trend comes even as broader housing affordability pressures make it harder for many other borrowers to set aside any extra cash.
A blogger writes that the rise of generative AI has made much of the internet harder to use, citing AI-generated summaries cluttering search results and bot-produced 'slop' overwhelming social platforms like X. In response, they've deactivated most social accounts and shifted toward RSS feeds, Substack newsletters, and a curated list of YouTube channels.
The developer has released Muse Spark 1.3, an updated AI model available now through Muse Code and the Meta Model API. The update focuses on sustaining longer, multi-step tasks, following complex instructions more reliably, and collaborating more actively with users by asking clarifying questions and checking in before consequential actions. A more advanced reasoning mode is expected soon pending additional safety testing.
A writer draws a parallel between the fictional Records of FATE from the game Chrono Cross and today's real-world AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Grok. In the game, an AI secretly nudges an unsuspecting population's choices through supposedly neutral advice terminals; the essay observes people at a live event turning to chatbots instead of engaging with what's in front of them, suggesting a similar dynamic is emerging in daily life.
The federal government filed a letter in court supporting OpenAI and Microsoft against the New York Times' 2023 copyright lawsuit over AI training data. The filing argues that using copyrighted articles to train large language models qualifies as fair use because it is 'extraordinarily transformative' and doesn't directly compete with the Times' journalism.
An early build of Google's Device Intelligence app, discovered ahead of the Googlebook laptop launch, reveals an opt-in feature that automatically groups related local files into topic-based collections, such as trip planning documents. These collections can be viewed through desktop widgets, and Google states the sorting happens on-device without files leaving the machine or being used for AI training.
The Trump administration filed a 20-page brief supporting OpenAI in its copyright dispute with The New York Times, arguing that training large language models on copyrighted material qualifies as fair use. The filing cites an executive order calling for the US to maintain global leadership in artificial intelligence, and warns that restricting AI training practices could harm American innovation and economic competitiveness.
A hardware outlet used a Lumafield Neptune CT scanner to image a delidded Intel Core i9-14900KS chip over a 12-hour scan with a 2.5mm copper filter, following a similar scan of the i9-13900K two years earlier. The interactive scan reveals internal silicon core structure, PCB layers, vias, and the rear-mounted capacitors supporting the chip's power delivery.
Reliance Jio has expanded its JioPC cloud computing service beyond its own broadband subscribers, making it available to anyone with an internet connection regardless of telecom provider. The service streams a virtual PC with up to eight virtual CPUs, 16GB RAM and 1TB storage, letting even computers up to eight years old run modern AI applications without hardware upgrades. Subscriptions range from about $11 for two months to roughly $53 for a full year of the higher-spec plan.
A laid-off government contractor named Christopher, after being repeatedly screened by 'Riley,' an AI recruiting bot from Everforth Apex Systems, with no human follow-up, decided to let ChatGPT Voice conduct his fifth interview on his behalf. He fed the chatbot his background details and let it converse directly with Riley, resulting in a smooth ten-minute exchange between the two AI systems with no human involvement at any point.
Gap is entering the handbag market with a new collection called GapBag, designed by Reed Krakoff, the former creative leader at Coach. The line reimagines Gap's denim and fleece staples as totes, crossbodies, shoulder bags and smaller accessories, launching online and in select North American stores on September 8.
1Password pledged $300,000 to Omacom, the nonprofit behind the Omarchy Linux distribution created by David Heinemeier Hansson, prompting criticism from customers and employees over Hansson's history of racist and anti-immigrant commentary. The password manager's leadership, including CEO David Faugno and cofounder Roustem Karimov, has responded internally to concerns about the partnership's optics. Critics on social media have called for boycotts and suggested alternative password managers in response.